Source: IBNLiveOne of Bollywood’s highest paid star, Akshay Kumar is someone who is called a ‘hit machine’ for the consistency with which he delivers successful films. Once known as an action hero, Akshay has matured over the years and is now seen as a wholesome entertainer for his unforgettable comedy, action, drama and thrills.CNN-IBN Entertainment Editor Rajeev Masand speaks to the star about how his life has changed over the past 17 years that he has spent in Bollywood.Rajeev Masand: Akshay, you have been away for about a month or so shooting in UK. What do you miss the most when you are away from home for such a long time?
Akshay Kumar: I have been away for over three months. I was shooting for two of my films there. But I don’t miss much because I take my family along with me.
There are people who do miss their families. I know one camera assistant who just had a baby boy and he could not even see him for three months. He could not afford it and also the producer did not allow him to go. So, I feel lucky to have my family along with me even when I am abroad.
Rajeev Masand: Until recently Hindi films were largely shot in India and only the songs used to be shot abroad. But today if you look at films like Jaan-e-Mann (shot entirely in New York) and Namaste London (shot in UK), the entire plot of most big banner films is based in the West. Why do you think that has happened?
Akshay Kumar: That is true. But I can hardly guess the reason behind this change. These days they have stopped basing the story in Mumbai or anywhere in India.
The moment you hear a script, you can be rest assured that the movie begins with the very sentence ‘you are this guy in New York.’ I mean I do not understand why it has to be a New York all the time.
But then this is what people are interested in seeing also. One big reason could be that the stars get completely involved when they work in abroad. They can't engage themselves into other activities and there is no disturbance also. I finished two films in just three months. That can only happen when we are shooting abroad. You can’t imagine that happening in India.
Rajeev Masand: I have always wanted to know when you all are shooting songs abroad, may be in a street in London or New York, where people are just carrying on with their everyday life. How does it feel when they stop by to see the ridiculous jhatka-matkas? Is it embarrassing or do you feel awkward about it?
Akshay Kumar: To be honest Rajeev, now the concept of jhatka-matkas has changed. Today the songs really blend in the story and in fact they too have some amount of storyline and script that goes into it. Songs are just a way of narrating small instances in the films these days. The concept of people passing by where you are dancing is a thing of the past.
Rajeev Masand: But of course you have shot extensively abroad and done all the jhatka-matkas in numerous songs. Has it ever been embarrassing at all?
Akshay Kumar: I did feel a bit awkward initially but then you have do it shamelessly. You cannot tell the producer to wait till sunset to shoot the song, when there would be less people around. Since I have always had the experience of performing on stage, that inhibition to perform in front of thousands of people was soon out of my mind.
Rajeev Masand: What do you do apart from shooting when you are abroad? How is life after pack-up?
Akshay Kumar: I enjoy shooting abroad. The concentration level is too high. There is no stress, no tension and no disturbance at all. I really enjoy it. That’s why I have stopped hearing the scripts. The moment I hear “the story begins in New York” I immediately say yes to the film.
Rajeev Masand: But do you wake up at four in the morning, go for workout and jogging even when you are abroad?
Akshay Kumar: I wake up earlier than that in fact. I sleep on time there and am free from all kinds of stress. I wake up really early when I am abroad.
Rajeev Masand: So it's not really a holiday for your wife and kids?
Akshay Kumar: They, too, like sleeping early and getting up on time. They wake up at a more normal time that is around seven in the morning. Even when I was not in the film industry, I used to get up at four in the morning. That hasn’t changed for me.
Rajeev Masand: You have been in the film industry for over 15 years now. When you look back at the journey, would you say that it is more difficult now for an outsider to become a star?
Akshay Kumar: I have been in the industry for over 17 years now. I would say that at that time, too, it was difficult for a person to become a star. Now it’s even more difficult to become a star. A lot of people come to join this industry. But today there is a lot more hard work and you have to prove a lot of things.
When I had got into films, I did not know anything about them. I had never seen a moving camera in my life. Today even if you want to join a regional film or TV, you have to have certain amount of exposure and experience.
You have to know how to dance, fight and you need to come with a lot of preparation. When I came here I only knew 'action' and that was it. I did not know anything else apart from that. I had no idea about how to face the camera; I had no clue about camera angles and the techniques. So I had to do lot of learning.
Throughout my career I have tried to learn things. The time is changing so fast. From the techniques to the ideas, everything is changing so quickly. The kind of films that used to work two years back are not going to work today. People’s choices and way of looking at films has completely changed. They don't want to see the usual stuff.
Films like Khosla Ka Ghosla Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Munnabhai are entirely different kind of films and they are working.
Had these films been released two years back they would not have worked at all. People no longer want to see actors dancing on the roads. They feel it’s baseless. The age of jhatka-matkas is over. People are sick and tired of looking at the same kind of thing again and again.
Rajeev Masand: In a way that is interesting also because that puts you on your toes all the time. You have to constantly think of newer things and better ideas. Isn’t it?
Akshay Kumar: You have to understand that if you want to keep going, you have to follow the younger generation. I am waiting for my son to grow up and give me better ideas. I believe that he will be able to conceive much better ideas than what I can think and imagine.
Rajeev Masand: You have been fairly consistent in terms of the successes that you have had. You have had a very good track record, if one looks at the films that you have done in the last couple of years. And yet it is said that ‘Bollywood is ruled by the three Khans’. How do you take that?
Akshay Kumar: I think it is fine, if it is ruled by anybody. Till the time I am getting my share of work, I am happy. There is so much of work considering the fact that there are about 160 films being made in the industry in a year with just seven or eight actors doing them all. How many films can an actor take single handedly?
I don’t think I need to worry about anything or that there is a need to compete with anybody. I have lots of work, I have the best life going, I am doing the best ads, two of the biggest companies – Microsoft and Coca Cola have me as their brand endorser.
My life is set and I don't need to worry about what people have to think or what somebody has to write about me. You know me for over 10 years now Rajeev and you have seen me through the phases in my life. I am quite happy and there is nothing to complain about really.
Rajeev Masand: Before you were married, you had a series of high-profile relationships with some of your colleagues. Tell me when you got married did you consciously decide to be committed or did you just outgrow such a lifestyle? You had jokingly said the character you played in Garam Masala was pretty much like what you really used to be.
Akshay Kumar: That wasn’t a joke really. It was the reality. A lot of times I sit down and explain myself what my life used to be before marriage. When you become a father, it automatically settles you down. Everything just slows down and becomes calm. And then you feel very relaxed about it. There is no problem at all.
Rajeev Masand: But what really happens when you bump into your ex-girlfriends?
Akshay Kumar: I just hug them, say hello to them, meet their fiancée or husband or boyfriend and there is no problem at all. I did not have any problems until now.
Rajeev Masand: Correct me if I am wrong, but I have heard that you are a very religious person. Is that true?
Akshay Kumar: Yes, I am a very religious person. But the one religion that I follow dedicatedly is my belief in my parents. I touch their feet everyday; I pray to them, that is my religion.
Rajeev Masand: How closely involved are you in your son’s education? Do you teach him sometimes after you are done with your shooting and all?
Akshay Kumar: Mostly my wife does all that. She sits down and teaches him. My schedule doesn’t permit me to spend much time with him. I only read out some of his books to him. We get to spend time only on holidays and vacations. But I must give all the credit to my wife for bringing up Arav.
Rajeev Masand: Do you attend the parent-teacher meetings in his school?
Akshay Kumar: Thanks for reminding me I just have to attend one day after.
Rajeev Masand: What do the teachers normally say about Arav?
Akshay Kumar: He just got his report card and he has done remarkably well. I took him for a holiday for two days to Goa. He liked it a lot. He enjoys all the vacations.
Rajeev Masand: Does he know what his father does or that you are a star?
Akshay Kumar: I am sure he knows. Nowadays there are so many channels and some or the other has got some of my songs playing on it. He knows it all.
Rajeev Masand: Do you make a conscious decision to show him some film of yours that you were really proud of.
Akshay Kumar: I try and hide that whole library from him. All my recent films are available to him. So he can see them anyways.
Rajeev Masand: What about the films that you did with your wife Twinkle?
Akshay Kumar: I don’t think my wife would want to show him that. To be honest he is hardly interested in watching films. He is more into sports, swimming and all that. He is more of an outdoor guy.
Rajeev Masand: Has he picked up these things from you?
Akshay Kumar: I think so. He also likes to play with his XBOX that we just bought some time back.
Rajeev Masand: Very few people know that you used to take him for mountain climbing with you when he was very little. Is that true?
Akshay Kumar: Yes, I used to take him for mountain climbing when he was just a year-and-half. He likes all that. He likes outdoors a lot.
Rajeev Masand: You must have grown up watching films of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. Now when you see that you have worked often with Amitabh Bachchan and that you are the son-in-law of Rajesh Khanna, does that feel great?
Akshay Kumar: It’s a great honour to have been able to work with Amitabh Bachchan and even greater honour to be the son-in-law of Rajesh Khanna. You won’t believe it but I used to struggle in my father-in-law's office. I used to take my photographs and struggle to meet him and show them to him. I remember he was making this film called Jai Jai Shiv Shankar with Chunkey Pandey. I remember asking him for a small role in it. But by that time he had finished the star cast.
Rajeev Masand: So life comes a full circle, isn’t it?
Akshay Kumar: Yes, it does. Working with Amitabh Bachchan was something that I could not have even dreamt of. It just happened, life took its own course and I started getting everything without even asking for it. I feel I am extremely blessed. I follow only one religion and that is my parents.
Rajeev Masand: Finally, tell us something about Akshay Kumar that nobody knows.
Akshay Kumar: There is hardly anything left to know, media is there everywhere. Just look at this interview here, three cameras surround me by my side and I cannot hide any of my expressions. I don’t think there is anything left that the audience doesn’t know.
Rajeev Masand: So, life is really an open book, isn’t it?
Akshay Kumar: Yes, that is the way it is. You have to learn to deal with it. You cannot hide anything because it is impossible to hide anything now.
Rajeev Masand: Well, best of luck to you. We wish there may never be anything that you may need to hide.
Akshay Kumar: Well, there was a lot to hide earlier but it's not so now. Thank you very much for having me here.
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